55 m - I've made every financial mistake possible to this point. However, I determined a couple of months ago to try to improve my situation. Most of the people I see here seem to make upwards of 4X+ what I do, and it's hard to see progress on the amounts I have to work with.
I work a low-paying job and, due to a combination of a health condition making insurance a necessity and caring for an elderly parent, changing jobs or adding a second job is not an option at this point.
I've had no retirement savings until the past couple of months when I enrolled in my employer's 401(k). I contribute 10% to it (and there's an employer match up to 5%). However, this only amounts to about $42/wk on my share. More about my allocation in a bit.
I also have a $1000 CD with Ally at 2.6% that is designated as a Roth IRA. Savings of about $1000, home is paid for, auto doesn't run, but I have one that I can use for the forseeable future. I also put $25 toward an emergency fund and $10 toward a car fund each week.
Only debt is $3125 on a credit card. I pay $125/wk toward the card, so just over 50% of my take-home pay each week.
My 401(k) is currently allocated as follows: VBTIX, 15%; VINIX, 35%; VIEIX, 15%; and VTSNX, 35%.
When I have the credit card paid off in a few months, that will give me more money to use toward other things.
So my questions are these -
1) Is there something I should add to my 401(k) as far as a different type of fund? Vanguard had the lowest expenses and these are the only Vanguard funds available in my plan. My allocations may be off; I was thinking more of growth since I don't see retirement as an option.
2) My goal is to build an emergency fund of $8,000. When the card is paid off, should I split the $125/wk and put half in the emergency fund and half in a Roth IRA with investment in an index fund, or build the emergency fund first, then invest?
Submitted October 12, 2019 at 08:08PM by Jariol https://ift.tt/2OIax43
